Incense burned since the pharaohs, the oils of the temples and the Delta, the stones they held sacred, and the cotton and linen Egypt still grows — for a home that feels lighter, and a calmer you.
For travellers on a journey in Egypt — and for anyone, anywhere, who wants them sent home.
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The ancient Egyptian word for incense is usually translated “that which makes divine.” Scent, stone and cloth were never only things here: they were how a person, a home and a temple were made ready.
Every morning the temples of Egypt woke to smoke. The priests burned incense as the sun crossed the sky — a ritual timed by the heavens, and one that never quite left Egyptian homes.
The priests' day, as Plutarch records it in On Isis and Osiris. The recipe for kyphi is still carved on the walls of the laboratory at Edfu temple.
Each as Cairo's incense sellers know it — where it comes from, and how it is used at home.
Resin of the Commiphora tree, brought from the lands the Egyptians called Punt. The priests burned it at midday, and it was among the precious materials of embalming.
At homeWarm, bitter-sweet and grounding — burned to settle a house at the end of the day.
Frankincense of the finest grade — pale, clear tears of Boswellia resin, the kind Cairo's shops call dakar. Hatshepsut sent ships to Punt for living incense trees; the voyage is carved on her temple at Deir el-Bahari.
At homeBright, clean and uplifting — the classic morning incense, burned to clear a room.
A fragrant wood that came to Egypt along the trade routes from India, and is now the soft, creamy heart of many Cairo blends.
At homeCalm and enveloping — an evening scent, for slowing down.
Agarwood, prized across Egypt and the Arab world for centuries, and still the most precious thing on the incense shelf.
At homeDeep, rich and lasting — burned to welcome guests, on Fridays and on feast days. A little perfumes a whole house.
Grown along the Nile and in every Egyptian kitchen garden; dried leaves laid on the coals, or a few drops of its oil.
At homeFresh and cooling — a lift for a heavy afternoon.
Crystals from the camphor tree, long kept in Egyptian homes and tucked into linen chests.
At homeCool and sharp — used to freshen a room and keep linen fresh.
In Egyptian homes to this day, incense is burned after a guest has gone, before a new beginning, and against hasad — the evil eye.
These beliefs are older than any of us, and we share them as Egyptians live them. Whatever you believe, the ritual does what rituals do: it slows the hour down, and leaves a room feeling cared for.
Egypt's perfumers were famous across the ancient world. They steeped flowers, resins and spices in oil to make perfumes and ointments, and the temples kept seven sacred oils for their rituals — at Edfu, the recipes for ointments are carved beside those for incense.
The craft never left. The Nile Delta still grows jasmine picked by hand before dawn, and small presses still press sesame and black seed cold, the way they always have.
Left: a perfume bottle of blue glass, made in Egypt about 3,300 years ago. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
For scent, for the skin and for massage — each pressed or distilled the way Egypt has always done it.
Egypt is one of the world's great growers of jasmine. In the Nile Delta the flowers are picked by hand before sunrise, while their scent is strongest, and extracted the same day.
UseWarm, heady and joyful — a drop in a carrier oil for the evening.
Grown in Middle Egypt and distilled for perfumers across the world, Egyptian geranium is prized for its rose-like scent.
UseBright and rosy — a balancing note in a massage blend.
Egypt is one of the world's largest growers of chamomile, in the fields of Fayoum and Beni Suef.
UseSoft and apple-sweet — for winding down at night.
Pressed cold from the seeds of Nigella. Black seed was found in the tomb of Tutankhamun.
UseRich and peppery — used on skin and hair in Egyptian homes for generations.
The everyday oil of Egypt, pressed from sesame seed in small traditional presses.
UseLight and warming — a classic base for massage.
Ben oil, from the moringa tree. Ancient perfumers prized it because it keeps for years without turning and carries a scent well.
UseSilky and almost scentless — the base that carries another oil.
The sacred flower of the sun, painted on temple walls and carried in the hands of queens. Its scent is rare and precious.
UseDelicate and floral — for meditation and quiet.
A massage oil is simple: a carrier — sesame, sweet almond or moringa — and a few drops of an essential oil such as jasmine, geranium or chamomile. Warm it between your palms, breathe it in, and work slowly.
Essential oils are strong. Always dilute them in a carrier oil, test on a small patch of skin first, keep them away from the eyes, and ask your doctor before using them if you are pregnant.
Natural oils, pressed and distilled the Egyptian way. Tell us what you are looking for — an oil for the skin, for massage or for scent — and we send photographs and a price.
Ask about oilsTo the ancient Egyptians a stone's colour was its power. Green and turquoise were new life, red was blood and vitality, deep blue was the night sky. They set them into amulets and collars, buried them with their kings — and Egyptians still wear them for the same reasons.
Right: the pectoral of Princess Sithathoryunet — gold, turquoise, lapis lazuli and carnelian, made about 3,900 years ago. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Mined in Sinai since the Old Kingdom, at Serabit el-Khadim and Wadi Maghara — where a temple stands to Hathor, Lady of Turquoise.
Joy, new life and protection.
Brought from the mountains of Afghanistan for the hair of the gods and the night sky inlaid on Tutankhamun's mask.
The heavens, and truth.
A red stone gathered in Egypt's deserts and carved into amulets for the living and the dead.
Life, blood and vitality.
From Zabargad, an island in the Red Sea mined since antiquity — the source of some of the finest peridot ever found.
Light, and the green of the growing season.
Mined at Wadi el-Hudi near Aswan in the Middle Kingdom, and strung into the jewellery of royal women.
Calm, and a clear head.
Strung into Egyptian necklaces since before the pharaohs — garnet beads lie in Predynastic graves — and set in the jewellery of the Middle Kingdom. Its name comes from the pomegranate.
The red of life, like carnelian.
The blue bead against the evil eye, the carnelian ring, the scarab worn for luck — Egypt never stopped.
Our stones. Natural stones, chosen one by one. Tell us which stone you are looking for and how you will wear it, and we send photographs of the actual pieces, with a price.
Ask about a stone
Egypt has dressed in linen for five thousand years. Its priests, Herodotus noticed, wore nothing else, and Tutankhamun was buried with chests of linen shirts and tunics. Today the same river grows some of the finest cotton in the world.
Left: an Egyptian linen sheet woven about 3,500 years ago, its fringe still soft. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Egyptian cotton is extra-long staple: each fibre is longer than ordinary cotton's, so it spins into a finer, stronger, softer yarn — one that grows softer with every wash. It has been grown in the Nile Delta since the 1820s, when Muhammad Ali planted it for the world.
Spun from flax grown by the Nile, linen is cool, strong and better with age. It breathes in the heat, softens as it is worn, and lasts for years — the cloth Egypt chose for its priests and its kings.
Pure cotton and linen against the skin, with nothing synthetic in between: the closest a garment gets to nature. Cut in modern, comfortable lines, so you never trade elegance for comfort.
Ask about cotton & linenAdd an afternoon to your journey: Cairo's incense, perfume and oil sellers in Khan el-Khalili with your guide, and a shopping companion for stones, cotton and linen. On a Nile journey, stand in the laboratory at Edfu temple, where the recipes for incense are carved into the walls.
Add it to my journey Write to us on WhatsApp with what you are looking for — an incense, an oil, a stone, a size or a colour. We send photographs of the actual pieces and a price with shipping to your country. Pay by bank transfer, card or PayPal.
Order on WhatsAppResins above all — frankincense and myrrh, brought from the lands they called Punt — and kyphi, a blend of resins, honey, wine and spices whose recipe is carved on the walls of Edfu temple. Plutarch records the temple day: resin at dawn, myrrh at midday, kyphi at sunset.
The name Cairo's incense sellers give the finest grade of frankincense: pale, clear tears of Boswellia resin. It burns bright and clean, and is the classic incense for the morning.
Light a charcoal disc in a heatproof dish and let it turn grey, then lay a pea-sized piece of resin on top. Open a window: a little smoke goes a long way, and incense is meant to scent a room, not fill it.
Yes — it is one of the oldest traditions in Egyptian homes: incense is burned after a visit, before a new beginning and against hasad, the evil eye. It is a belief rather than a science, and we share it as Egyptians live it.
Plant oils — moringa (ben oil), sesame and castor among them — steeped with flowers, resins and spices to make perfumes and ointments. Temples kept seven sacred oils for their rituals, and offering slabs with seven hollows, one for each oil, survive from the Old Kingdom.
Mix a few drops of an essential oil — jasmine, geranium or chamomile — into a carrier oil such as sesame, sweet almond or moringa. Essential oils are too strong to use on the skin undiluted: test the blend on a small patch of skin first, keep it away from the eyes, and ask your doctor before using essential oils if you are pregnant.
Egypt is one of the world's largest producers of jasmine. In the Nile Delta the flowers are picked by hand before sunrise, when their scent is strongest, and extracted the same day.
Turquoise from Sinai, peridot from Zabargad island in the Red Sea, amethyst from Wadi el-Hudi near Aswan, and carnelian from the deserts. Lapis lazuli, the deep blue of Tutankhamun's mask, was always imported, from the mountains of Afghanistan.
Its staple — the length of each fibre. Egyptian cotton is extra-long staple, so it spins into a finer, stronger and softer yarn, which grows softer with every wash.
Both. On a journey, your guide or a shopping companion takes you to Cairo's incense and oil sellers, and to stones, cotton and linen. From anywhere, write to us on WhatsApp: we send photographs of the actual pieces and a price, with shipping to your country. Payment by bank transfer, card or PayPal.
Light it slowly.
Order on WhatsAppPhotographs: ancient jewellery and linen, The Metropolitan Museum of Art (public domain) · Mark Bonica, 2 (CC BY 2.0) · Dan (twiga_swala) (CC BY-SA 2.0) · maja kuzmanovic (CC BY-SA 2.0)
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